William driscoll



(No Model.)

W. DR'ISGOLL. FOOT GUARD FOR RAILWAY FROGS.

No. 478,604. Patented July 5, 1892.

witnesses v Inventor UNITED STATES [ATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM DRISCOLL, OF BROCKVILLE, CANADA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES HALL, OF SAME PLACE.

FOOT-GUARD FOR RAlLWAY-FROGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 478,504, dated July 5, 1892.

Application filed May 8, 1891, Serial No. 392,116. (No model.)

To all whom it may concermv Figure 1 is a plan or birds-eye View of a Be it known that I, VVILLIAM DRIsCOLL, a railway-frog, together with point and wingsubject of the Queen of Great Britain, residrails. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal secing at Brockville, in the county of Leeds and tional View together with a side View of two '5 Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented of the guards shown in dotted lines. Fig. 3 5 new and useful Improvements in Dangeris a perspective view of the switch-rail guards. Guards for Railway-Frogs, (patented in Can- As these guards will require to be about ada April 23, 1887, No. 26,512,) of which the double the length of any of the rest, there will following is a specification. have to be a leaf riveted onto them, as shown IO Now be it known that- I have invented an in the drawings. Fig. 4 is a transverse verimprovement on the aforesaid danger-guard tical sectional view on lines XX, Fig. 8. Fig. for railway-frogs. 5 is a'profile view of one of the short guards The title by which I designate my invendetached from the frog. Fig. 6 is a profile tion is Driscolls foot-guards for railwayview of the wing-rail guards detached from 15 frogs, of which the following is a specificathe frog. These guards are quadrant and do 6 131011. not rest on the flangesat the front end, but My invention relates to an improvement on are designed to block the space at the month my former patent; and it consists in the peof the Wing-rails, as shown in the drawings culiar construction and combination of dein dotted lines. Figs. 7 and 8 are birds-eye 2o Vices that will be more fully set forth hereinviews of both guard and switch rails. after, and particularly pointed out in the The guards are designated by the letter F claims. and shown in the drawings in their respective My improved guards have two objects in places by dotted lines. view: first, to provide a foot-guard for rail- In the drawings, A represents the frog- 25 way-frogs that will come up to the level of point and wing-rails.

the top of the rails; second, to provide a B represents the guard-rails. guard which can be made wide enough to fill C represents the switch-rails. the space between the top of the rails. This D represents the ties to which the said rails my original patent guards would not do. T0 are secured by spikes E, all of the ordinary 3o accomplish this desired result, my improved construction, and now in common use, and to guards will have to be pliablethat is, conwhich my invention is applicable. structed of the best quality of spring-steel of F represents a spring-steel bar of suitable suitable thickness-and the width and length dimensions. The ends of said bar are bent of the guards will varyto suit the converging downward, as shown, one of the said ends 35 of the rails. having a hole pierced through it to receive The new guards will be made strong-enough the spike E or other means of securely fasto resist the weight of man, but will be detening it to the tie. The opposite end is bifipressed by the action of the car-wheel flanges date and folds backward on the under side passing over them, being constructed of elasofthe bar and rests on the lower flanges of 40 tic material, which enables themto spring the rails. This causesadouble-aotion spring back into their normal shape when the pressto the front ends of the bars, and the spike ure is relieved. Thus it will be seen that my driven into the tie at the outside or wide ends improved guards block the space between the of the bars will keep them firmly in position. top of the rails so eifectually as to prevent The advantage I claim for my improved 45 the footof any person, even that of a child, guards over my original guards is in the fact 5 from being caught between the converging of their elasticity, which allows them in all railway-rails at frogs, switches, guard-rails, cases to come up to the level of the tops of and the like. I attain these objects by the the rails, and intheiroheapness and simplicity mechanism illustrated in the accompanying of construction, combined with durability 5o drawings, in whichand mode of operation under various conditoo tions, which make them applicable to all frogs, points, wings, guard-rails, and switches now in use on railroads; also, whereby they can be made wide enough to prevent ice and snow from packing in between the rails, as is usually the case in winter.

I am aware that prior to my invention safety devices, frog-protectors, and footguards for frogs, guard-rails, and switches have been constructed of spring -steel. I therefore do not claim such material in the manufacture of guards as broadly new; but

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A foot-guard for railways, consisting of a spring-steel bar having one end bent downward and extended at an angle with an opening therethrough to receive afastening-spike, and the opposite end bent down and under in a curved line and of bifidate form to provide a double-spring action at the free end of the bar, the said front end of the bar being reduced in width, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. A foot-guard for railways, consisting of an elongated spring-steel bar having both ends bent downward, one of said ends being secured and the other free, the free end being bent under or backward in a curved line and of bifidate form, and a leaf pivoted on the top surface of the bar to modify the resiliency thereof, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses. V Brockville, April 23, 1891.

WILLIAM DRISCOLL.

WVitnesses: V

G. H. BUELL, Jr., W. J. BEECHER. 

